兩個孩子,一匹馬,一具屍體,橫跨加州,只為了找尋埋葬父親之所
Lucy跟Sam一早醒來,只發現爸爸冷冰冰的屍體,媽媽老早就離開了這個家,瞬間,在這片沒有人接受他們、正視他們的土地上,兩個小孩變成了孤兒。原本懷抱著淘金夢的爸爸,決定舉家移民到美國加州這塊聽說遍地黃金的土地,然而在這裡等待他的,卻是最卑微的、最辛勞的挖礦工作,工作上過度的負荷加上憂鬱而養成酗酒的習慣,最終讓爸爸丟失了生命。
中國人傳統上來說,人走了,無論生前如何,至少死後要好好下葬,得一個安身之所。然而這儀式至少需要兩個銀幣,Lucy和Sam兩個孩子無論如何也湊不出來的兩個銀幣。帶著不被承認的移民身份,他們只好逃離小鎮,帶著一批被偷的馬、爸爸的配槍,以及他日漸腐壞的屍身。
西部的大地上,遍佈著水牛屍骨、老虎爪印,荒涼野性的郊外,他們不能停下腳步,為了安葬父親,也為了告別過去,開創屬於自己的未來。冒險旅程上,他們認清了關於欲望野心是如何令他們一家演變至此,同時也發現這塊以為的「富饒之地」,到底有多麼貧瘠,「這塊土地拋棄了它的金礦、拋棄了河流、動物們、原住民們,拋棄了藍天綠地,以及它自身的生命力。」
(文/博客來編譯)
“Likely to be the debut novel of the year.” – San Francisco Chronicle
“Outstanding.”—The Washington Post
"Arresting, beautiful."—The New York Times
“Revolutionary…A visionary addition to American literature.” – Minneapolis Star-Tribune
An electric debut novel set against the twilight of the American gold rush, two siblings are on the run in an unforgiving landscape—trying not just to survive but to find a home.
Ba dies in the night; Ma is already gone. Newly orphaned children of immigrants, Lucy and Sam are suddenly alone in a land that refutes their existence. Fleeing the threats of their western mining town, they set off to bury their father in the only way that will set them free from their past. Along the way, they encounter giant buffalo bones, tiger paw prints, and the specters of a ravaged landscape as well as family secrets, sibling rivalry, and glimpses of a different kind of future.
Both epic and intimate, blending Chinese symbolism and re-imagined history with fiercely original language and storytelling, How Much of These Hills Is Gold is a haunting adventure story, an unforgettable sibling story, and the announcement of a stunning new voice in literature. On a broad level, it explores race in an expanding country and the question of where immigrants are allowed to belong. But page by page, it's about the memories that bind and divide families, and the yearning for home.